Kindle Books From Your Public Library – Check It Out!

Posted By
April
On
December 27, 2011 @ 7:25 PM
In
eReaders |
4 Comments

If you own a Kindle then you know the convenience of having multiple books with you while carrying only that one little device.

Of course you also know the cost of putting those books on your device… leaving us with a love-hate relationship.

Fortunately there is now some relief when it comes to the cost of using your Kindle, which should put a little more love into the relationship.

eBooks have been available from your public library for quite a while and recently eBooks for Kindle have become available in more than 11,000 library systems.

Obviously the first step will be to discover if your library system now has the Kindle books. Jump online and check the website, call the library and ask… whatever but if you can find a “Yes” answer then you’re in luck and need to check this out.

While the specifics of each library system will differ, overall I found the process quite easy and it starts where borrowing a library book always starts… with a library card. If you don’t have one, get one.

You don’t have to actually go to the library to check out Kindle books, but if you don’t already own a library card then you’re going to need to stop by and get one. After that, you can get Kindle library books online any time day or night.

Ok – so we all have our library cards… first step done.

Now it’s time to sign into your library’s website and searched through the library’s offerings. When searching I made sure that my searches were targeted to eBooks as not all books in the library will be available this way.

Keeping in mind that each library system will work a bit differently… Once I chose a book I was given a link to download the book…

…which led be to a page where I had to choose the format I needed to download.

Obviously I chose the Kindle book which was then added to my cart.

Checkout was my next step and it was here that I was actually given the button to download the material… which of course wasn’t actually the download… go figure!

Instead my browser opened a new tab that was sent to Amazon where I had to click the Get Library Book button.

After that it will depend upon your Kindle as to what’s next.

If Amazon can send the book to you via a Wi-Fi connection then it will, otherwise you’ll need to first download the file to your computer. Amazon will let you know if it will be sent via Wi-Fi or if you’ll need to download the book.

I had to download the file and then transfer it to my Kindle so if you’re stuck in that situation don’t fret… it’s not difficult and here’s what you’ll need to know.

To move the book from my computer to my Kindle I connected the Kindle to the computer using the USB cord that came with it. (The USB cord is your charging cord with an adapter at the end.)

At this point the Kindle will behave as a removable drive that you can open and view folder contents, so open the Kindle in Folder view and locate the Documents folder.

Copy the book from your Downloads folder on your computer to the Documents folder on your Kindle and you’re all set.

Eject your Kindle from your computer and turn it on.

Ta-da! A library book on your Kindle – no trips to the library, no late book fines and you don’t have to worry about library hours… this branch is open 24/7.